MSG
ParaphraseTranslation profile
The Message
MSG
How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
Now showing Guided. How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
This is an educational comparison guide — not a Bible reader, and not a quiz that picks a best Bible. You can change this anytime.
The short version
MSG restates the meaning in contemporary language, often more freely.
These sentences use the listed method, reading-grade, lineage, and notable-facts fields. They are not a ranking.
Translation approach
MSG restates the meaning in contemporary language, often more freely. This guide lists this as Paraphrase.
Reading difficulty
Easier modern English. This guide lists grade 6.
What makes it distinctive
Intended to be used as an aid to understanding traditional Bible translations.
How it translates
Translation approach: . MSG restates the meaning in contemporary language, often more freely.
This is a restatement of a translation in modern terms and vocabulary, often expanded for clarity. This approach is sometimes called free translation.
Reading level
Easier modern English. This guide lists grade 6. Reading level does not measure accuracy.
Where it came from
This guide does not list an English Bible lineage for this translation.
First listed 2002.
Text and source listings
Old Testament:
New Testament:
What makes it distinctive
A translation’s story
Why this translation exists
1
Before it
This guide does not list an earlier English Bible in this translation’s lineage field.
2
Why it was created
To re-create the common language in which the Bible was written into today's common language.
3
How it translates
Paraphrase. This is a restatement of a translation in modern terms and vocabulary, often expanded for clarity. This approach is sometimes called free translation.
4
Who / what it was designed for
Intended to be used as an aid to understanding traditional Bible translations. Used for devotional reading.
5
Where it sits
Paraphrase · Grade 6 · First released 2002 (Modern English).
See it in action
Compare with translations that offer a useful contrast — not a ranking.
KJV
Different translation approach
ASV
Different reading grade
RSV
Older and newer English
Sample verses
Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.”
16 This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17 God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.